I originally created this account to track the plethora of enjoyable Harry Potter stories that can be found here.

I prefer stories that skate the edge of darkness but still have a decently upbeat resolution. From my perspective Harry's the hero so I don't spend too much time with Foolish!Harry.

Why call myself wordhammer? I tend to squish words and phrases together rather than limit myself to one concept per sentence. That's one reason, anyway.

For those still interested in the Spiral Path; I'm working on it. Perpetually. It's like Holly is stuck in my head, banging around and yelling, "Tell them what happens next! All of it! You know where we're going and it won't hurt me any less for putting it off."

That said, I skipped forward a bit to create an AU of my AU called 'Holly Polter' (and no, that's not a typo). Since it has some Tangent-worthy sex scenes, I only posted it on alternate sites where they don't annihilate your account for such things. UPDATE: I've decided to brave the ire of our overlords and post it here as well. Benefit to this is that this version has been edited more. For one thing, I'm trying to break myself of a newly-discovered addiction to punctuation. (J-just one more comma... one more comma!)

Attitudes that you might find interesting, as far as the world of fanfiction is concerned. Updates will be made sporadically as funny truisms come to light.

The previously unmentioned rule of possibly canon-compliant one-shots: Don't deviate from canon unless you have to. You may have a great notion about how a fight should play out differently- great. Write that. But don't hook in your secret obsession with a One True Pairing unless it has bearing on that fight. Ex: Harry fights the Basilisk but in this version is pounded into mush. Later, he recovers in Healer Pomfrey's care only to discover that he now has Looks That Kill powers. This has nothing to do with your obsession with Harry belonging with Daphne Greengrass, so don't kill Ginny with those powers unless it's a punchline. Kill Snape. It's what Harry'd want to do anyway.

Journeyman writer trick: As another kind of edit, search for and remove as many words ending in -ly as you can. Adverbs are a crutch, though they can add to the poetry. Try taking them out and see if the sentences still work. If words are like Legos, those adverbs are the little antennae, flower pots and flags- often uselessly flashy and likely to fall off anyway. As an example, you'll note that 'uselessly' doesn't add much meaning to the previous sentence. (Yup- I'm still a journeyman)

Join the DarkLordPotter 5-star fiction C2. They don't have my stuff listed (rightly so), but what's there is some of the best writing that this site has to offer.

Recently I (re)discovered a number of essays relating to the World of Potter, ones that take the discussion of what might have been going on between the scenes to a remarkable level of believable complexity.

Expecto Patronus by Pharnabazus : how the Wizarding world functions in a mode similar to ancient Roman Patronage networks.

The world is breaking; war and technology are pushing on the edge of the unbelievable, and S.H.I.E.L.D. desperately attempts to keep the peace. The soldier and the scientist are not the only lights that push back against the darkness, however; magic will encompass the world again as the last wizard makes himself known.

After one taunt too many by Draco & learning of dark things while possessed, Harry refuses to play his part anymore. Into this comes Luna with her own dark story to tell. They shall both get revenge and shake magical Britain before the end. - Harry/Multi

AU. Voldemort kills Dumbledore but is defeated by a child. In the aftermath, Snape becomes the Headmaster and radically changes Hogwarts. Harry Potter of House Slytherin begins his Third Year at Hogwarts Battle School and realizes that friend and foe are too similar for his liking. Competing with allies and enemies, Harry finds there is a cost to winning.

Calvin's eleven years old - well, technically, anyways, but his shorts still reach his ankles - and not much has changed. Until the letter from Hogwarts, that is. *dramatic music* *sense of foreboding* *bloodcurdling screams echoing in the distance*

In one world, it was Harry Potter who defeated Voldemort. In another, it was Jasmine Potter instead. But her victory wasn't the end - her struggles continued long afterward. And began long, long before. (fem!Harry, powerful!Harry, sporadic updates)

The world hangs on the courage of one person: Harry Potter. In a struggle between two different kinds of magic, that of love and hate, Harry must find the will to overcome the Evil One. Pumpkin Pie Unite! HHr

Some men live their whole lives at peace and are content. Others are born with an unquenchable fire and change the world forever. Inspired by the rise of Napoleon, Augustus, Nobunaga, and T'sao T'sao. Very AU.

Voldemort won the war. Harry Evans attends Hogwarts where discrimination is rampant. Voldemort rules Britain but a Resistance movement is fighting back. No one knows much about them for sure, except for their name: The Marauders. Fourth Year. TriWizard Tournament. AU.

AU The Dursleys taught Harry to fear and hate magic and all things magical including himself. Now how long will it take the wizarding world see the damage done? And can they ever hope to fix it? Disturbing. WIP

::Year 2 Divergence:: What does it take, to reshape a child? And if reshaped, what then is formed? Down in the Chamber, a choice is made. (Harry's Gryffindor traits were always so much scarier than other peoples'.)

In the year 1590, new threats have arisen against wizarding Britain. After a series of murders of magic-users at the hands of muggles, one witch, Judith Fairweather, must discover the cause of the attacks and the reason behind their success for the government of wizarding Britain - all while keeping her own hide intact. Collecting a generous fee would be an entirely welcome bonus.

Harry is a prisoner, and Bellatrix has fallen from grace. The accidental activation of Bella's treasured heirloom results in another chance for Harry. It also gives him the opportunity to make the acquaintance of the young and enigmatic Bellatrix Black as they change the course of history.

A fellow Sherlock author asked me to put together a comprehensive guide to writing both gay and straight erotic fiction, as well as lists of sexy words and some general writing tips. Please feel free to use. Includes Table of Contents and References.

On Halloween 1994, Harry learns his mind isn't his own. On Samhain morn, he vows to question everything. Armed with logic and an unlikely ally, Harry makes a last ditch bid to reclaim his life. The goal: survive at all costs. On Hiatus.

Five years of intense study and trying to survive has come to its inevitable conclusion and everything's gone to hell in a handcart. A smut fic that got a little too much plot for its own good. AU. - Discontinued -

A simple choice: today or tomorrow? Conceived a day earlier, a heroine, not a hero, is born. With every step, with every waking breath, Harriet Lily Potter rewrites history. But is the world truly ready to be rewritten? Does Ginny Weasley fully comprehend what it might mean to befriend this lonely, love-starved girl? - Femslash&Het - H/G main - Full summary inside -BACK FROM HIATUS

Honks. what if Ginny died at the Battle of Hogwarts and Tonks lived? Riddle is dead, the battle won, but the war is not yet over. Two grieving people have one chance to clean up the MoM for good, the clock's ticking, while caring for a baby half-werewolf.

We all remember the scene from "Deathly Hallows": Harry was struck down by the Dark Lord, and his spirit seemed to go to King's Cross and confer with Albus Dumbledore. Suppose, instead of returning directly to his body, Harry's spirit came back late?

Systematically abused and degraded children do not suddenly turn into well-adjusted members of society when removed from the abusive situation. Nor do they tend to be very trusting of others, or forgiving. Sequel up.

Professor Sirius Black, Head of Slytherin house, is confused. Who are these two strangers found at Hogwarts, and why does one of them claim to be the son of Lily Lupin and that git James Potter? Dimension travel AU, no pairings so far. Dark humour.

Steve has a routine, and god help him if he's going to break that routine for anyone - yes, that includes you, Tony. Enter a local barkeeper with a penchant for the occult and the gift of good conversation. EWE, not slash, just a couple of guys and a few hundred drinks. Rated for fear of the thought police.

During the Second Task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Headmaster Dumbledore watches his plan for the Greater Good crumble and die. A Veela girl receives the gift of life through the blood and sacrifice of the last Potter. Gabby/Harry w/ a twist.

We have the testimony of Harry, but witnesses can be notoriously unreliable, especially when they have only part of the story. This is a biography of Severus Snape from his birth until his death. It is canon-compatible, and it is Snape's point of view.

A difference of a few seconds can change a life. The difference of a few minutes stained Harry's hands with blood - but for the Dark Lord, it was insufficient. After all, you do not need to kill a man to utterly destroy him. Harry/Tonks

Because Ginny wasn't sure they ever were really just friends, that there wasn't always something underneath, some part of her that had always needed Tonks to hold her up, pull her through, to… love her.

Canon bks 1-5 AU thereafter. Startsat the end of Book 5, where the warnings given to Vernon produce the opposite result. New Prophesies are revealed which spell trouble for those who want to control Harry. Rating changed due to violence. HHrL NG RSB

After Harry nicks a Time-Turner in order to save Sirius, reality starts shifting around him. One day, he's not the Boy Who Lived, and the next, magic doesn't even exist. So Harry, being the only one aware of it, sets out to find out what went wrong

After Sirius's death, Harry devotes himself to learning magic in a desperate attempt to protect the people he loves. Warnings: Profanity, Extreme Violence, References to Non-Con -Not of Main Character-, Dark/Questionable Harry

Harry Potter won the Second Blood War and defeated his enemies... and was left with nothing. Decades later, he contributes to the creation of a revolutionary new piece of technology and destroys the future in order to rewrite his own past...

Fifty years ago, Grindelwald won the duel that shaped the world. In a land overwhelmed by darkness, a hero emerges: a young wizard with the power, influence and opportunity to restore the light. Harry Potter, caught up in a deadly game of cat and mouse, must decide what he truly believes. Does this world deserve redemption? Or, more importantly, does he?

Summary: After she is murdered, Hermione's soul is sent back in time in order to prevent Harry from becoming the next Dark Lord, but quickly learns her task is not as easy as she thought it would be. A second chance story, with a twist. Eventual HHr

Ever wonder 'Why don't they just do that' "A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic." Harry and Hermione, however, were raised in the muggle world and are therefore fully capable of thinking things through...A collection of of one-shots

Five years after Voldemort's victory over the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter is a man on the run. But what happens when he is thrown into his twelve-year old body in a freak accident? Non-DH compliant. Complete.

So maybe everything didn't work out perfectly for Harry. Still, most of his friends survived, he'd gotten married, and was about to become a father. If only he'd have stayed away from the Veil, he wouldn't have had to go back and do everything AGAIN.

He felt something close to pity for the woman in front of him. And while that disturbed Draco to no end, what really disgusted him most of all was the harrowing fact that someone or something had broken Hermione Granger’s spirit beyond recognition.

Because somewhere between the talk and the actual act, girls concoct a fantasy about their virginity, and how they’re going to lose it." An antidote to the common FT stereotype. One-shot. Reviews are greatly appreciated.

Did you ever wonder why Death Eaters prefer to throw stunners at purebloods and more dangerous and deadly ones at half-bloods and muggle born? Why do Aurors only use non lethal curses even when faced with lethal ones? - Harry finds out. Chap 28 up! H/HR

Oneshot from Ron’s POV. Ron tries to explain to the twins just how Harry made the Ministry of Magic make a new classification for magical creatures, and why the puffskeins were now considered the scariest magical creature of all time. No pairings.

In the aftermath of the Final battle a misplaced spell sends HP and Bellatrix to an alternative world. It holds everything each of them have lost to the war and yet they find themselves inexorably drawn back to each other. HPBella done right.

Voldemort has launched an all out war on the Wizarding World, and has taken the Boy Who Lived. But he has not reckoned on the resourcefulness of Hermione Granger. HHr developing in a sort of postapocalyptic environment.

Our lives are not our own. Fate is set, choice is meaningless and the mark of the chosen never truly fades. When Harry finds a way to change his destiny, will the result be better than the path already chosen for him? HP/HG Sequel posted.

AU of HBP. After losing his Godfather and promising to think before he acts, Harry receives a letter from the new Minister of Magic with an intriguing proposal, he gains a new ally and begins doubting an old one. Independent!Harry Realistic!Honks

COMPLETE. Two years after defeating Voldemort, Harry falls into an alternate dimension with his godfather. Together, they embark on a new life filled with drunken debauchery, thievery, and generally antagonizing all their old family, friends, and enemies.

This is an idea I came up with after reading many fan fiction stories. Set after HBP and featuring a very disgruntled and reflective Harry. Tonks is there to help him figure a few thinks out, and friends aren't friends. THIS IS NOT A SLASH FIC.

As a captive of Lord Voldemort, Luna Lovegood never thought she would live beyond the first 24 hours. Saved at first by her quick wit, Luna learns the depth of human evil…and becomes the Dark Lord’s greatest weakness. Eventually LVLL.

COMPLETE Edit in process. PostOOTP, Very Little of HBP. Harry returns to Privet Drive and Tonks helps him become the man and hero he must be to survive. HONKS. Action, Violence, Language and Sexual Situations

After a humiliating incident, Hermione ponders the nature of trust. Trust is a curious thing. It's like a window, fragile and easily shattered, but as long as the frame still stands it can be fixed and made stronger than ever. HHr

Pre-5th year, Harry is visited by a woman claiming to be his magical Aunt Holly, except that she can't cast spells... or keep her hands off of him... or stay out of trouble. Holly/Harry/we're not sure what'll happen. Not just naughty- it's knotty (as in subject to entanglement).

Steamy vignettes from Harry Potter story 'Holly Evans and the Spiral Path'; Rated M for sex, violence and/or weirdness. Spiral references at the top of each chapter, so you know where it fits in the story.